Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1887-12-10

'Eead! she's the only really beautI-
ful old woman ever saw"
The speaker was one OF a group OF
men who stood on the steps OF a
church one Sunday morning a few
years ago in a fair city of which we all
know.
The group had apparently been dis
oussing the woman who appearance
called forth the exclamation. / fol.
lowed the direction of their looks and
found ample warrant for theemphatic
utterance which heard.
The association of old age with. un.
common womanly beauty in one per-
son is rare enough to excuse the Gu
riosity that impelled me to learn this
woman's history. ! will not, there.
fore, offer any apology for what the
reader and possibly the lady
herself may regard as an imper-
Thence. 1t is a fact that / did learn
the story of her life stranger though l
am in the citythat is her home. 1t is
not q thrilling tale. There is in itnot
one essential dramatic incident. Yet
1T moves me to deep emotion and stlrs
within me loftier admiration than
the story of many life that genius
has snatched out of the common for
immortality.
Aunt Madeline flor so she is called
by those who love who'll would smile
in mild reproof if any one were to
say to her: "You are beautifup'-so
many years have come and gone since
she gave much thought tor herself.
Hers is twofold beauty. being made
Hp of those singular graces of person
which attracted the notice OF the
group at church on that Sunday
morning and the higher graces of a life |
that is consecrated TO others without |
flourish or pretense ofselEabnegation.
shall first try to tell how she APP |
peared from my own point of view. |
The narrative proper shall be in the |
hands OF the pastor, to whom ] am |
indebted for it, as nearly as can get
them down.
The figure is tall and the carriage
graceful. She walks like one accus- |
toned to free exercise. Her attire is
undeniably elegant. The least-practi-
cal observer of such things may see at
a glance that it came from the hands |
of a fashionable maker. / determine, |
therefore, that she is not too poor to
crafty her natural woman's taste for
daintiness of dress. Her face quite |
battles my powers of description. 1t is
the face of so years, that | have
learned; but when looking into it one
does not think of its years. l cannot
say that it conforms to any estab-
lshed form of beauty. having neither
a 'tpretty" chin nor the soulful eyes
of which we hear so much in verbal
portraits of beautiful women. Never
theless, am ready to stake my iudg-
ment on the general proposition that
it is one OF the loveliest faces that was
ever seen out of dreams. The nose, / I
must say, is of perfect mould; theha
IS a pure white mass, arranged IN a
Grecian coil at the back, parted in the
middle and falling in feecy waves
over the temples and covering the
ears. and forming a truly artistic
frame for the never-to- be-forgotten
face.
She speaks to a young girl at her
side, and her smile discloses a mouth
full OF natural teeth, whose whiteness
time has not touched and whose per-
feet symmetry in unbroken.
Her skin is clear and fresh-an elo-
quent tribute to right living and a sign
of freedom from those vanities of
women on which the fortunes of nos
trum-makers are built.
One cannot doubt that she is an old
peace, of purity, of sweet piety, OF
restraints. do not mar
vel that her face is glorified.
"Aunt Madeline was one OF two sis
tiers" said my friend the pastor, be-
ginning the recital which ] am to repro
duce. "Her father was a politician
and an honest man. He loved truth
for its own sake, and though he filled
many offices he died a poor man,
leaving his motherless daughters moth
ing in the way of fortune except the
modest home in which they were born
and reared. Madeline was 20 and Eth
Ell, her sister, Is. when they were
called to face the world. A livelihood
must be made for both, and it was
clear enough that only one OF them
could undertake the dubious task.
The child Ethel assuredly was not
equipped for it. Madeline alone must
roll the heavy stone up the hill.
"After her fathers funeral expenses
were settled there may have been $50
n the house. Madeline saw that i'm
mediate action was imperative.
What should she-what could she-do |
10 earn an income? 1t was not hard
20 answer the question. In her hap.
pier and leisure girlhood she had
moderately developed faculty for
writing children's stories, some of
which had found their way into
print. She resolved to make seri-
JUS test of her powers in that direc-
ion, and in the course OF a few weeks,
Urged on by necessity, she produced a
mall volume of tales. A publisher
vas soon found who undertook to :
,ut the volume forth and pay
Madeline q fair royalty. The venture
vas moderately prosperous. Others
and after ten years OF strug-
lie the hardworked author found her
elf in possession of an income that
vas more than sufficient for her own g
ind Ethels needs. 1t was about this
lime that Ethel married, and on that E
act hinges the noble devotion and |
he single heartedness of this woman,
whose life has been beautiful and
CONSTANT exemplifcation OF faith IN
he dear God whom she serves with
UGH unostentatious zeal.
"In the early days of her struggle
he loved and promised herselfin mar t
iage to Joe Bertram. He loved '